I was at a meeting of universal health care supporters at Stanford (yes, they exist), and the organizer, who has “worked on campaigns since George McGovern,” as she put it, made the case that physicians are built tough–and it’s perfect for activism. “You don’t eat, you don’t sleep; you’ll stay on hold with someone for 3 hours… there’s no stopping you!”

I, on the other hand, still choose to (require?) eat and sleep. Residency hasn’t happened for me just yet.